Tennis day seven preview

We are officially into the latter stages of each competition – including mixed doubles, which jumps from Thursday’s first round to Friday’s quarterfinals.

Half the tennis matches will lead to twice the excitement. All Centre Court matches on Friday demand viewing, but especially the last three.

At approximately 1:30 PM ET on Centre Court, Spain’s World No. 5 Rafael Nadal – making a comeback after 18 months of unusually weak play – takes on Brazil’s unseeded Thomas Bellucci in the quarterfinals. Nadal is considered one of tennis’ all-time greats, and is the possessor of 14 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal in singles from the 2008 Beijing Games.

Immediately afterward on the same court, up-and-coming American Madison Keys – seeded seventh at this tournament – takes on Germany’s World No. 2, Angelique Kerber. Kerber won the Australian Open against World No. 1 Serena Williams in January, but lost to Williams in the Wimbledon final last month. It will be a big task for Keys, who – should she lose – will still compete in the Bronze Medal Match.

Nadal will return for the final Centre Court match of the day, where he’ll compete alongside countryman Marc Lopez in the men’s doubles Gold Medal Match. Nadal/Lopez will go up against Romania’s Mergea/Tecau, but are guaranteed at least a silver medal.

Steve Johnson, the other American making headlines at the Rio Games, will compete twice today. He’ll face an enormous challenge in his singles quarterfinal match against World No. 2 Andy Murray, which will take place on court 1 at approximately 11:30 AM ET. He’ll return to court 1 at approximately 3:30 PM ET to compete in the men’s doubles Bronze Medal Match against Canada’s duo of Nestor/Pospisil.